Background and objective

A Decision Support System (DSS) for

the sustainable use of peatlands

www.paludiculture.com | www.elan-bb.de | www.nachhaltiges-landmanagement.de | www.bmbf.de | www.fona.de

The DSS consists of two main stages. In the

first stage land-use options (for example

reed, typha, water buffalo) are generated

that are suitable for the type of land in

question. In the second stage, the most

suitable measures for land conversion are

identified. The basic structure of the DSS is

shown in figure 2.

Dichotomous decision trees (with YES-NO-

questions) build up the main model

elements with the identified parameters

relevant to decision-making. The DSS gives

a basic instruction to every branching

point, explaining the criteria and

classification scheme, and providing

further information such as references,

weblinks or visual materials.

Schulze, Paul2 ; Schröder, Claudia1; Luthardt, Vera1; Zeitz, Jutta2

1 University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde, Faculty of Landscape Management and Nature Conservation 2 Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Division of Soil Science and Site Science

Paludiculture (“palus“ – lat. “mire,

morass”) is the cultivation of biomass on

wet or rewetted peatlands, which aims

to conserve peatland and reduce

greenhouse gas and other emissions

that are a byproduct of drainage.

On the one hand it includes traditional

processes of peatland cultivation (reed

mowing, litter usage), on the other hand

new processes, for example the

energetic utilization of biomass of the

marshes, are used.

Conventional agricultural and

forestry use of wetlands require

increasing drainage intensity. Due to

drainage, cultivation and fertilization,

wetlands emit large amounts of

nutrients into adjacent ecosystems,

and greenhouse gases into the

atmosphere. Associated with these

processes are the degradation of the

organic soil and the loss of

biodiversity (Fig. 1).

We have developed a Decision

Support System (DSS) that provides

basic information to farmers and

planners to enable them to use

peatlands in a sustainable fashion by

conserving peat. The DSS proposes

new land use options both for

peatlands currently used for

agricultural purposes and

uncultivated, degraded ones.

A rational decision-making process in a DSS can be based on a dichotomous

decision tree (YES-NO-questions). The reduction to a single issue per question

will lead to faster and better decisions by the user. Additional and

appropriately processed information supports the use by the decision maker.

Fig. 3: adapted management of farming photo: Paul Schulze (left) Christian Schröder (right)

What is paludiculture?

Fig. 2: basic structure of the DSS with a modular concept

Fig. 1: soil degradation of a peatland due to unadapted management of farming , photo: Christian Heller

What is a decision tree?

Basic structure of the DSS

The DSS is based on a modular concept. In

the first module “basic information of the

actual state” site-related parameters were

queried. The collected data includes

average groundwater level, peat thickness

and actual land use. Through the module

“water management”, the water avail-

ability will be assessed in the catchment

area of the peatland, to check whether it is

sufficient to raise the water level either

directly or indirectly. The module

“restrictions” provides an estimate of the

spatial resistance toward waterlogging and

a change of land use. Furthermore, it is

checked if adjacent and protected areas,

such as “natural parks”, “nature preserve”

or any other biotope protected by law, are

affected by waterlogging. The aim is to

remove sensitive habitats and protected

species and rare and endangered eco-

systems from the focus of Paludiculture.

The DSS processes all collected data

following a decision matrix. Then the most

suitable land use options are identified.

Finally the user is given a report containing

a list of measures that need to be adopted

to facilitate the conversion to the new type

of land use, and a summary of every

parameter relevant to the decision-making

process.

Modules of the DSS

Potential land use options

Application The DSS will run without installation on all

major operating systems, including

Windows, MacOS and Linux – only a web

browser is required. The user interface

consists of an embedded application inside

a webpage. The first draft of the DSS will be

published in 2013.

To enable the use of peatlands in a

sustainable fashion by conserving peat, the

following land use options will be

integrated into the DSS. Reed and similar

plants require very high water levels, even

overflow. When grazing on very moist and

wet grassland with a high heterogeneity of

the water levels the water buffalo (Bubalus

bubalis) has advantages over conventional

domestic cattle species. The cultivation of

black alder (Alnus glutinosa) can occur in

riparian and marsh areas with a wide range

of water levels. However for the

production of valuable wood balanced

moist conditions are required. The

common land use on peatlands (extensive

pasture or meadow) can only be

recommended for sites where no higher

water availability exists. More suitable land

use options can be integrated in the future.

De

term

ina

tio

n o

f la

nd

use

op

tio

ns

De

riva

tio

n o

f th

e m

ea

sure

s

module„Water

management“

module „Basic information of the actual state“

module„Constraints“

Water buffalo

decision matrix for the land use options

Report:current state, land use

options, checklists

Reed (energetic

and material usage)

Alder (energetic and

material usage)

...

summary:status quo

module„Water retention“

chec

klis

ts f

or

the

chan

ge o

f u

se

lan

du

se